How Garry Monk has turned Sheffield Wednesday into a 'horrible team' to play against

Big question marks were raised over Wednesday's promotion credentials after they lost three in a row over Christmas.

But Monk's side have bounced back with successive away wins at Premier League Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup and then Championship leaders Leeds to move back into the play-off positions.

Luongo, who has started the last two outings, said: "We are not easy to beat. When things aren’t going well, take the Birmingham game a couple of weeks ago, our attitude was ‘we are not losing this game’.

"We go on the road and teams don’t want to play us. We are horrible to play against. We don’t give an inch.

"Having that mentality is so important. On top of that, we have got quality, which you saw against Leeds, to nick it at the end. We can punish somebody with just one or two chances.

"I have played against players, who have been called horrible, and you know you are not in for a nice day.

"We are getting that reputation - that identity - that when you play against us, it’s not going to be an easy game."

Luongo, a £1m signing from Queens Park Rangers last August, is full of praise for the job Monk has done in masterminding the Owls' top-six challenge.

"The manager deserves all the credit, combined with the mentality of the players," he said.

"From day one, when he came into the dressing room, we have been trying to create our identity.

"Defensively, everyone knows their roles, it’s drilled into their brains. I go to sleep and I can see what I am going to do on a weekend.

"He has done that very well. With the managers I have had previously, the trouble is, to get their message across is always a difficult thing."

Wednesday will be searching for a first Hillsborough win since December 22 when they entertain Blackburn Rovers tomorrow.

Luongo added: “We haven’t had a home win in a while, so it would be nice to do that in front of our fans.”